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FITCHBURG -- The Fitchburg High girls' basketball program needed a jolt of life.

The Red Raiders have absorbed loss after loss over the last five years, winning only 14 games while losing a whopping 82 during that span.

Last year, Fitchburg sputtered to a tune of 1-17 -- the lone victory coming against Hudson -- and scored the least amount of points and yielded the most in the Midland League A.

Fitchburg needed a spark, something to give the program hope.

So the Red Raiders turned to former FHS boys' basketball coach, motivator and disciplinarian Paul DiGeronimo, hoping he can put this team back on the Central Mass. girls' basketball map.

"Paul brings a wealth of coaching experience, especially as a former head boys' coach here at FHS," Fitchburg High Athletic Director Ray Cosenza said. "He is knowledgeable, passionate, hard-working, and teaches the right lessons to our student-athletes.

"Paul has experience turning around a struggling program. The numbers are already up this year and we will have three separate teams (varsity, JV, freshmen) this year. He is the right person for the job."

It's a job that DiGeronimo, a 1984 FHS graduate and current physical education teacher at the high school, takes very seriously.

"There was an opportunity to come back to coach," said DiGeronimo after practice at the FHS Field House on Friday afternoon.

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"Any time you have an opportunity to come back to coach and to coach in your hometown, your high school, you jump at that opportunity.

"I love Fitchburg."

DiGeronimo is the first to tell you that this program has a lot of work to do before he even whispers the word playoffs to anyone wearing the red and gray.

The Red Raiders are starting from the ground up in this rebuild.

"I guess you'd call it a rebuild, but rejuvenated is a better word," DiGeronimo said. "Let's see if we can get this to be contagious, even down at the lower levels, because that's where you have to build, from the bottom, and surround yourself with good people."

In the last five seasons, the Red Raiders' records have been 1-17, 4-16, 5-15, 4-16 and 0-18. There's nowhere to go but up.

"We're moving forward," DiGeronimo said. "That's our approach. We're looking to have some success in different ways. I know people measure success in wins and losses; right now we need to win the small battles. Those things will take care of themselves. We'll build on the strengths and work on the weaknesses. I think we've made huge strides in five days. The hardest part is getting them to dig down and realize how hard they can work. And they have. They got put through the ringer, and I think they're going to come out of it all right."

Just landing DiGeronimo to coach again -- he stopped coaching the boys in 2010 and became a high school basketball official -- has been a big morale booster within the team.

"The intensity is definitely different," said FHS senior guard Nicole Romero, a four-year varsity player. "He has everyone working as a team at every practice, every drill. He's working on basic fundamentals -- everything that we need to work on in order to win. He's focusing a lot more on defense to get wins.

"We definitely need a turning point and I think this is it. We're a young team full of sophomores, nothing but a bright future from here."

Cosenza says he expects to see "immediate improvement in the program."

Cosenza added: "I am confident that our girls will work hard under his leadership and compete night in and night out. He will run a disciplined program where expectations will be clear and student-athletes will be accountable. I am confident that our team will hustle, play great defense and improve each week."

The hard work is already being put in during grueling practice sessions.

Whether it's asking during practice, "Why is anyone walking?" or, "Push the ball up the floor, let's go," DiGeronimo has the Red Raiders hustling all the time and practicing with high energy and focus.

DiGeronimo's practices aren't a country club setting, that's for sure.

"He's tough," Romero said. "He doesn't take anything easy on us. He helps us, but he says it in a demanding way. I think every practice is getting harder and harder and it's making us tougher and tougher. Every day I've been sore, but it's only getting us stronger. Every team is going to be hard, but every team is going to get a challenge from us."

DiGeronimo was a disciplinarian with the boys, and he's not going to tone down his high-intensity style just because he's coaching girls.

"I go on enthusiasm, passion and all the emotions," DiGeronimo said. "If I'm not giving it my all, I can't expect them to give me the same thing. I don't think I've toned it down."

Romero said the team was "very nervous" when they found out DiGeronimo got the job.

"Everyone said, 'Get ready for work, get ready for hard work,'" Romero said. "It's work, but I like it. Hard work is what this team needs."

Will the Red Raiders make the playoffs in Year 1 with DiGeronimo leading the charge?

The head coach says he's not even thinking about how many wins this team will earn.

"They haven't seen a lot of success, but you shouldn't measure everything in wins and losses at this stage of the game for them," he said. "I don't think that's fair to a kid. Everyone wants to win, don't get me wrong. But we need to keep moving forward and make strides.

"I've never even thrown a number out there for a number of wins. Anything can happen. Sports are crazy. You never know what can happen, especially at this level. They are students first, that's rule No. 1. It's school and family and this is a bonus. The toughest hurdle is the academic part, then we work from there."

With a new coach and a new direction for the program, Romero says the players believe DiGeronimo can help them turn those losses into victories if they continue to work hard, listen and play as a team. They have 100 percent confidence in their new coach.

"Throughout my high school career, every game has been like, one quarter is good, or the second quarter is good, or a half is good," Romero said. "I feel like he's preparing us for a whole game. Throughout the whole game, we're working 100 percent. That's what he's expecting of us and that's what we're going to show him."

DiGeronimo has given Fitchburg that much-needed jolt of life and confidence.

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